Unmet need of essential treatments for critical illness in Malawi.

Background: Critical illness is common throughout the world and has been the focus of a dramatic increase in attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Severely deranged vital signs such as hypoxia, hypotension and low conscious level can identify critical illness. These vital signs are simple to check and treatments that aim to correct derangements are established, basic and low-cost.

Inability to Walk Predicts Death among Adult Patients in Hospitals in Malawi.

Objective: Vital signs are often used in triage, but some may be difficult to assess in low-resource settings. A patient's ability to walk is a simple and rapid sign that requires no equipment or expertise. This study aimed to determine the predictive performance for death of an inability to walk among hospitalized Malawian adults and to compare its predictive value with the vital signs-based National Early Warning Score (NEWS).